Kitten, With Claws
by loungelizard85
Summary: After a tragedy, things go to seed. But when Kitty is given a chance to find out what happened, somethings may be better left alone. Pairings: Fable (Quinn/Kitty) Jarley (Jake/Marley) Possible Karley/Wild Rose (Kitty/Marley) Takes place three years from present, college years. Disclaimer: all characters belong to Glee and it's creators. Rated M for safety character death Chap 3 up
1. When September Ends

A/N: so I've decided this will be the story to work on while I wait for more input from cannon episodes to continue _Green Thoughts. _Plus 'Feud' scared the crap out of me with that last bit, even after 'Guilty Pleasures'. So I've decided this would be a good way of testing out 's 4 character selection. Without further ado, Chapter one,

Rolling her eyes at herself, Kitty Wilde decided that this look was a little too 'girl detective'. There was nothing wrong with her clothes; it was just a frame of mind, and actions that she took.

Kitty just starting her first year of college, and was looking for a fresh start, something that didn't directly borrow from her application essay. In other words, it was time to ditch the leggings and peasant blouses, make her own way, and step out of her identity as _that girl_ from McKinley high school- _didn't you hear what happened?_

Settling on a pair of yeans and a t-shirt that was just a size too small- it rode up a tad, giving a small expanse of skin the opportunity to peak through as she turned, studying herself in the mirror. Deciding 'good girl' was as close as she could get without falling into some other less likable and less desirable archetype, she accepted the look and surveyed the rest of the dorm room.

Basically, two beds, one for her roommate, obviously, two large panning windows, and a white wash treatment that Kitty suspected was the kind of money saving tactic the university writ off as a do it yourself art project for the walls. Kitty took little in the way of personal items. Besides the mirror and a few essentials, she took her camera (a gift from her mentor and third letter of recommendation writer, Quinn Fabray), a photo of her, Marley Rose, Jake Puckerman and Wade, AKA Unique, grinning like idiots in a group shot taken the day before graduation, and a Mac Notebook, plus her E-reader. The campus provided most odds and ends, what was too expensive to be bought on campus could be found in stores around the university, as this was a large city.

Kitty hoped large enough that her infamy wouldn't trail her here. Mostly, people left her alone, which was at first disconcerting, with her being in the spotlight for more than one reason back in high school, but then she welcomed the anonymity, as it gave her the freedom to do what she wanted, without coming across as distant.

And right now changing her style was what she wanted to do. Shedding her identity or at least the indicators of a past one, came easy. Cheerios went the way of the wind half way through junior year. Glee ended before it could really start. Being a bitch left her as people became unbearably nice, as though she suffered anything close to significant given the others who could have used their sympathies. Kitty became just a footnote for other peoples processing of events, and an excess one at that, were it not for her role in things. For a year the four in the photo stood apart from each other, and after that only Jake and Marley talked, seen sitting together in a comfortable silence that was preferable, and it wasn't until the last semester of their senior year that the four would come together, careful not to be seen, and become some fodder for gossip and rumor mills.

Kitty relished that time, and it was odd; being alone didn't bother her- she was the only member of her own unholy trinity, after all. Kitty chalked this up to the feeling of camaraderie and the absence of guilt: talking couldn't get anyone in trouble or under renewed interest without it being the fault of someone else who just as much should know better. Kitty took her place as a background character as their high school careers ended, eager to slip by unnoticed and coddled in their little nucleus of a group with the figurative castles collapsing around them.

Mr. Shuester was the first to go. Apparently there was some conflict, in which the teacher wanted to know how anything like this could have happened on school grounds and accused Principal Figgins of cutting security to the bone, and his cheapness being the cause. The administrator didn't take that too well, and ordered Mr. Shuester on _paid_ leave.

The glee director reportedly told him to shove it up his ass.

Afterwards, the commotion carrying out into the hall, with Mr. Shuester escorted out of the building by an oddly sympathetic Coach Sylvester, and Coach Beiste playing damage control, students pooling out into the hall as the apparently drunk educator screamed at the top of his lungs. Kitty wished she hadn't stepped out to see. Upon seeing the diminutive blonde, even with what remained of the glee club only a door or two down, it was _her_ he called on, to what exactly, Kitty still did not know, and when she averted her eyes from the near a hundred or so pairs on her and his erratic and wild ones, Shuester hissed something under his breath that sounded a lot like _"you make me sick"_ although she couldn't be sure, as a slightly less Coach Sylvester pulled him hard followed by Coach Beiste's pitying look over her shoulder. Kitty wanted to stay in class, was determined to not look like she trying to slack off, or that anything out of the usual- she was the first back in her seat, and did not pay attention to how the rest of third period pre-Calculus burned holes into the Whiteboard, trying not to look at her, at least not directly. But the teacher, he asked her if she wanted to stay out the rest of the period. Kitty said no, but he insisted that if she wanted to, she could, and eventually Kitty gave in, leaving aware of the amount of restraint it took the class not to watch her go. She wandered the school aimlessly for twenty minutes, until her next class started, but then the same thing (word travels fast when the drunk instructor tells off the short defenseless blonde) the teacher implied that if leaving would be desired it was okay, and so by lunch, Kitty called her mom and asked to be picked up, as she really shouldn't be driving.

Finn fell next, unsurprisingly, even with Figgins trying to find a spot for the former student, in what was suspected as trying to avoid confirming Shuester's accusations. He left on his own accord, having no club to coach or fellow students left at the school from his time, easily slipping past and like Shuester never being heard of again by any of the current McKinley student body.

Coach Sylvester tried to keep her squad on the winning circuit but constantly fell to suspicions, especially after Kitty left, ironically to avoid that fate, that her Cheerios were emotionally damaged.

As McKinley's two stellar points fell, the school became lackluster, more so than it was, with dropping admission rates and frequent Superintendent visits. Figgins stayed, but as a shell of his former self. Other groups tried, somewhat on his behalf, to fill the void, but never attracted much attention, even if they won significant titles, which were hard to come by with worried boards, divisions and contest personnel.

As the auditorium and choir room went unused, Kitty became more adamant on graduating. Marley managed to do so early, with a few Advanced Placement courses under her belt, earning college credit. She took a semester off, and spent it at various volunteer centers, while spending time with her former cohorts.

As Kitty recalled, Marley looked much better outside of school than when attending, and her openness and renewed vigor restored Kitty's, Jake's and Unique's appetite for friendship.

Kitty felt like it was the first day of summer, here, on the first day of school even as the days began to cool, or the hours after a fever broke- damp but freer, as though something had let go, the breeze was sweet, and she could enjoy it now.

_And it's still warm enough to go without a coat, _Kitty thought brightly. Before she went out, though, she would check her mail. Bouncing on the bed, she queued up her provider, scrolled over the contents, particularly interested in her syllabus that should have been sent, ready for new classes: an elective in photography, a psych course, a hard science and a few the Registrar had picked out.

The syllabus was there. However, above it sent about an hour ago, with the McKinley notation, identifying its source. _Perhaps a notice of a transcript or something, they would fuck it up… better check it out._

Kitty's breath caught in her throat after she clicked. The message was two lines, in two sentences, with a name she never thought she would hear again. Never wanted to hear or see again.

It read,

_Have info on Katie Fitzgerald. Want to talk?_


	2. Trouble, Trouble

A/N: so hopefully this will provide a bit of background and introduce one of the main pairings. Btw, chapters are named after songs, if you didn't get that already. Without further ado, chapter two,

Kitty stared at the screen for well over an hour, making sure the address wasn't falsified; looking for something that could indicate it was a practical joke. But the address was definitely from William McKinley high school, and seemed to be from a legitimate account, although the practice of using first and last initials followed by a numeric code effectively hid the identity, and the brevity of the message ruled out any identifying characteristics with which she could link to a person she knew or something she had seen written.

It was a lost cause, she knew. 'Katie Fitzgerald' was never released in the press, and the only reason she was aware of the moniker had to do with her involvement with the investigation. Sitting in an interrogation room improvised from an empty classroom, visiting detectives (The shields were unfamiliar to her, and she was doubtful Lima even had detectives) asked her about the name. Kitty was defensive, feeling accused, and felt incredulous at having to 'describe her relationship to the deceased.'

Did Marley or Jake or Wade have to say anything but _friend_? Kitty doubted that, too. The name came up about twenty minutes in to what the investigators called a 'talk', and she told them she had never heard of anyone in the school with that name, maybe the first, or the last, but never together in that order.

"Who is she?" Kitty had asked, irritated. At the very least she would find something out, she was owed that, more so than the commentators, reporters and the salacious story hunger public. The two detectives exchanged looks.

"Going over some of the deceased-"

"Ryder. His name is Ryder." The officer swallowed.

"We looked though Ryder's computer, both at home and ones he used during school hours and the name came up, someone he was communicating with frequently." Kitty was unimpressed

"So?"

"So, sometimes people like to play _pretend_. Especially younger people. Maybe you made up this identity as a joke, a little prank, and it got out of hand? Something happen, an accident?" Kitty glared at them.

"You think I did this? I don't even know what the hell happened!" The investigators remained tightlipped during her outbursts and waited until she was quiet.

"It's a possibility we are considering, yes."

"How do you even know it was anyone in the school, huh? Or in the state? How can you even tell it was a _girl?" _Kitty suddenly felt nauseas, as vague and disturbing images flittered through her mind about the boy's last hours, what this… _person_ could have done to him. Softly, the man continued.

"Our computer forensics traced the IP address to a computer used in the school, during all of their correspondence, and as for your other question…. We don't know." The other detective silent during the 'talk' spoke up.

"Ms Wilde, the thing is… other students and faculty, well, they describe you as something of a loner, rather isolated. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to change who they were over the internet. Talk to someone, under normal circumstances, who you wouldn't, or couldn't." Kitty stared owlishly at them.

"Did you just call me a _loser_?" One detective opened his mouth, but the other spoke instead.

"We're merely stating that, social hierarchy aside, you may have felt trapped in your identity and that may have lead you to create a new one."

"But I'm a cheerleader. Any 'identity' I don't have, I can take whenever I want." Rather than her usual snide, the statement was made as a logical conclusion, a proof, almost.

"Still, being a cheerleader doesn't insulate you from all high school social problems. It does seem that you don't have very many friends." Kitty smirked.

"Are you gonna pull my hair and say something mean about my mommy, too?" The detective on the left took a deep breath.

"You had access to the school, during practice, over summer vacation. All we're trying to do is certify that you were the one sending the messages, so we can understand who exactly did what."

"I didn't send shit, okay!? I didn't create a fake identity, I had no idea what was going on. And I sure as hell didn't kill one of my friends!"

The detectives stared. Soon after, Kitty's parents arrived at the school, and her dad, furious, that the police were allowed to talk to their daughter without them present, or any of the _minor children_, as he put it, for that matter. The detectives tried to consol him, assuring that they were just talking to see if anyone had anything to offer in terms of evidence or tips with the case. Kitty's scowl, however assured him of the opposite.

That was just after it was made public that someone had murdered Ryder Lynn. Principal Figgins had been hesitant and Mr. Shuester was livid that the detectives wanted to talk to the students so soon after news had broke and people were unable to deal with the gravity of what had happened, to even begin to process it. Kitty understood the need, and the rest of the glee club still in the state- as the rest had gone on to their respective colleges, and couldn't be called back on such flimsy evidence, although a few came back of their own accord, specifically Artie, Tina and Sam, to help in anyway they could. Kitty didn't see how.

_The high of starting college shouldn't wear off this quickly, _Kitty thought glumly, bristling at the memory. Only a few days later, Kitty found out that the person who called themselves Katie Fitzgerald was operating the computer _during_ Cheerios practice, from one of the detectives, who was apologetic, leaving a card, in case anything else strikes as useful to the case.

Again, Kitty didn't see how.

Realizing it was rather unusual to sit in a darkening room with only the glow of a screen for company; Kitty shut her Notebook, and set it back inside her bag. Classes started in a week, and so Kitty hadn't seen much of her roommate, or had anything to do for the day, at the very least she should get some of the waning sunlight, for the sake of her mental health, if she was going to bury her nose in a computer.

The campus was large, housing several schools on the property, and Kitty was glad to not have to go far to find a community area, which was deserted, for the same reason as her room. Pulling out her cell, Kitty contemplated calling Quinn. The two were close enough, emotionally speaking at least, and from the older girl's description of her job as assistant to moderately successful off Broadway producer, she would welcome a distraction from reading endless scripts and giving her opinion. Kitty fingered the device, turning it in her hand, glancing back to her email, the highlighted message seeming to flicker and tremble, a trick of the light. She hoped.

Physically, however, Kitty was _very_ acquainted with Miss. Fabray. One might say they knew each other _biblically_. On the night that Quinn had given her the camera, and a bit of drinking, Quinn just of age and Kitty under her 'watchful eye' so as not to go overboard, although Kitty had drank before and the mild wine coolers Quinn held were well within her range of tolerance. In Kitty's mind, the liquor was more for Quinn's sake than any sort of liberty bestowed on her. While Quinn certainly wasn't an alcoholic, Kitty was astute enough to gather that the college graduate was well versed in the beverages sedative qualities.

Not that Kitty suspected the older blonde of planning anything, but the timing was such that with high school almost behind her and Quinn worried about her future after college, perhaps she saw the benefit of reveling in her unofficial protégé's starry eyed wonder while introducing to Kitty the finer arts of writing off the majority of college experience as 'experiments', with strawberry zinfandel as a sort of lubricant for any discomfort.

Besides, of course, her tube of KY in the hotel nightstand.

A sharp breeze, colder than the others, woke her out of her revere. The morning after, mild headaches and dry mouths abound, was the problem. There was no real awkwardness, but Kitty felt she rushed out of there, citing her need to get home to get ready for a party her mom was throwing for the graduates, a small thing, and Kitty managed to not completely fuck up by asking if Quinn wanted to accompany her; Quinn politely declined, though Kitty could tell, not from disinterest, something made Quinn hesitant, unwilling continue last night outside of their experiment, which in the younger girl's eyes had been a success. Kitty had a gut feeling it was her urgency to leave and like a vicious circle each felt compelled to give the other some space neither had asked for.

But things were normal after that, and were comfortable; she could call Quinn, Quinn would call her. But this was different- this was personal, so much so, that she actually feared that Quinn would turn her away, not willing to allow the girl to be dependent without contributing something back, sex, acknowledgement of a relationship, or a definite answer. None of which she was willing, or ready to give. The transfer from like- a- little- sister to something-of-a-lover was not smooth and Kitty did not need to deal with it today.

Tucking the phone away and then pulling it out once more, she decided to send a call to Marley, someone whose investment in this predicament would be less personal, more pragmatic. If someone else knew, more than just what was in the papers and police press releases, than maybe something could be done to solve Ryder's murder, and bring a killer to justice. Kitty wasn't the law and order type, but realizing that her connections to people, in general or more intimate were so ephemeral, she wanted to know more about Ryder and why he never told them about someone who, even under false pretenses was connected to him in a way that the detectives suggested, certainly was not.

Dialing the brunette's number, Kitty waited with apprehension. The line clicked open.

"Hey, Marley."

A/N: so next chapter will see a few more familiar faces and explore the identity of Kitty's 'deep throat' like person. Until then~ LoungeLizard. 


	3. Who Can It Be Now?

"Was it really necessary to call _everybody_?" After high school, and Marley's gap semester, the remaining and last members of New Directions made an exodus to New York. Marley came as a testament to her ability to stand on her own- by her understanding, if she could make it here, dealing with her chronic shyness, and her eating disorder inducing low self esteem, she could make it anywhere.

Jake, because Noah had already 'claimed' Los Angeles, California, the, in the words of the older Puckerman, "good part"  
of the East coast, and to take advantage of his self dependency, being without support from either his brother or mom, and still make a decent life, unlike his and Noah's father.

Wade wanted to be accepted, but not expected. His Unique character/gender identity could be expanded here, not stifled by ignorance, and not coddled with condescension and pity.

Kitty just wanted out, and this became her next 'in'. She liked it, on its own merits, well enough.

_Until yesterday, that is._

"This affects all of us."

"And I get that, really I do. But, what if I'm wrong? It's probably some prankster." Kitty felt like crap for saying that. The idea that anyone in Lima would joke about _this_ was ridiculous and made her feel like a coward, not wanting to deal with someone, who, however hurtful, was trying to help. Marley stopped short, on the landing of one of New York University's buildings, Kitty had forgotten which one, and turned to look her in the eye, possible only because Kitty herself was a few steps up.

"Do you really believe that, Kitty? You said it yourself over the phone: the police never released that information."

"_To my_ _knowledge_. It's entirely possible they published it some time after, I mean; it's been three years." Somehow, that felt insensitive. Marley tugged on Kitty's arm, down to the landing and off to the side for some modicum of privacy.

"You don't have to be scared, you know." None of the others had gotten the email.

"I'm not." This wasn't a lie. Kitty felt dread, curiosity and, at the moment, with Marley's wide blue-gray eyes burning into her, vaguely flustered. "Can we separate before people start thinking we're a couple?" Marley pulled away but still wore her concerned expression; Kitty saw much of it back in Lima. Hoping to introduce a little levity, feeling robbed of her supposed 'fresh start'; she tried a bit of banter.

"Speaking of couples, how's the long distance thing between you and Jake." Marley looked at her queerly.

"We're in the same city- how is that 'long distance'?" Marley made air quotes on the last part.

"True, but this is _New York_, not Ohio; even a short distance makes for two separate lives." Kitty frowned at herself. Even when trying to just chat, she was starting trouble. She tried for a joke. "I mean, I crossed into the 'little' versions of at least six different countries just getting here."

_Here_ was New York University. Where Kitty had Quinn and two teachers write her recommendation letters, Santana Lopez had the original members of New Directions corralled and pick the top three, after Marley admitted that she didn't feel that letters from the faculty would do anything to overshadow her presence in the media: Rachel Berry, for her experience on Broadway, Finn, most close to Marley and overall untouched by the 'plague of McKinley high', and lastly Santana put her own words to paper, as a character reference.

Santana had to be forceful; the former members seemed to be afraid of Marley, separated infinitely from the girl whose incarnation of the glee club ended so suddenly, and with it being such a big part of their lives, felt like they couldn't be themselves.

At least, that was Quinn's version of events

"So, I hear Santana kidnapped you to help with Marley's college applications?" Kitty tipped the flowery- sweet liquor to her lips, and took a sip. Quinn glances at the bed spread they were sitting on and made a sound of agreement.

"Um, hope you don't mind me asking, but why was it so hard to get you guys to help?" Suddenly, she feels small, not just like a younger sibling, but an _annoying_ one at that. But Quinn sighs and shifts a bit, and it looks as though she'll answer.

"It…," She pauses, and hazel eyes search the room, finding nothing. "It's not like we didn't want to. It's hard to approach Marley. Because of what happened?" Quinn's voice gives into an inflexion, making no commitment to even that vague statement. At least, Kitty didn't know the answer to the question, if that was what it was meant to be.

"You're here with me. This isn't hard." Green flecks shimmer, Quinn looks up. She chuckles.

"It isn't, you're right. But, you… you're different.

"How?" Quinn looks distant, something is on her mind, but she avoids saying it aloud.

"With Marley, and the others, I… _we_ worry that they feel…. Helpless, I guess is the right word." Kitty didn't know what to say, and she must have looked insulted; Quinn reaches forward with a comforting hand, running a thumb in circles across her hand. "You got to… do _something_."

Kitty had known what she meant and shrugged out of Quinn's reach, although subtlety so, she wasn't ready to reject physical comfort, but didn't want to submit to Quinn's assertion.

Kitty had found him.

"Kitty. We're here. Hey, Kitty." A light touch to Kitty's shoulder brought her back to the present, and all that remained of her flashback was flushed cheeks, vivid against alabaster skin. She turned to a generic wood door.

"This is your dorm?" Kitty asked numbly. Marley nodded.

"Well, off campus housing, the landlord gets a subsidy or something, and so the rent's cheap, so long as we don't have any wild parties or anything."

"Bummer. All work and no play will make Marley a dull girl." Kitty grinned, but it was tired and sapped of any genuine emotion, and Marley's face remained neutral. Realizing they were pausing outside of the door, Kitty guessed it was for her benefit.

"They're in there already?" Marley nodded.

"It's not like anyone is mad, or anything. Why do you look so nervous?" Marley had been kind enough to walk her from the train stop; her classes started earlier than Kitty's and she was acclimated to the path towards the school, and then her living quarters. When she told her that Jake and Wade were waiting, Kitty had blanched. Why, Kitty didn't understand, but if she had to make an educated guess, she would say it was because she felt self conscious. Of all the four remaining who had a connection to Ryder, Kitty had been selected, and she wasn't sure she deserved it.

"Why do they want to talk to me?" Marley frowned.

"Because we're all in this together-" Kitty shook her head.

"Whoever sent the email, I mean. Why do they want me and not any of you? I was awful to Ryder. I didn't listen or care about who was catfishing him and he paid the price." Marley was about to say something when the door opened, looking bemused.

"You know Kitty, it's not nice to have a pity party and not invite us." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"How thin are these doors?" she asked Marley who shrugged. Turning to Jake, she looked owlishly at him.

"I'm _not_ feeling sorry for myself and hello to you, too, Jake." After a moment of awkwardly standing in the hallway, he spoke again.

"Do you know what the last thing I said was? To Ryder?"

"Enlighten me."

"Maybe it's 'Brad the Piano guy'. A month later he was gone. So maybe you weren't such a dick to him."

"Are we gonna whip it out and see who's bigg-" Marley stepped between them.

"Guys, isn't this the sort of conversation we should have inside? Or, maybe, not at all?" Jake wordlessly moved out of the way.

Marley's apartment was bare, but deceptively spacious. The paint was peeling; the beams were rusted, as the skylight was as well. The wood floor had splintered, where, in response, Marley had strategically placed rugs, so only a small portion of the nicks and grooves showed, so people could sit, next to the couch, one of the only pieces of furniture in the room, besides a bookshelf and a small desk, upon which sat a laptop.

"So, nosy question. How much does a place like this set you back?" Kitty remarked peering around a corner, which ended in a small bedroom. On the opposite side a similar room and corridor, and in the center extending towards the door, was a small kitchenette and dining island.

"Fifteen hundred, but my mom's paying half till I get a roommate." Marley said the last part a bit too quickly. Kitty scrunched up her face.

"A thousand five hundred for this place?! Poor Marley. You got robbed." Kitty finished bluntly.

"Well, like I said a roommate would be great. And the room is huge." Marley paused. "Um, Kitty? Do you think you'd be interested?" Kitty dropped her head from staring into the skylight, swaying slightly from the induced vertigo.

"Well, I'd like to, it be a lot better than spending a semester with some girl I barely know, who could go all Leighton Meister on me, but my deposit for the dorm is non refundable. It's nothing personal," she added when Marley's face dropped a bit, hopeful smile receded to a polite one. Marley shook her head.

"It's fine." Jake and, Kitty noticed, a surprisingly quiet Unique sat at the back of the dining island, causing her to frown. "What? This watching-me-watching-you thing is starting to get creepy. Did you join a cult since last time?" Marley's lopsided grin and facial expression were especially infuriating. She spoke, slowly. Carefully.

"You seemed…. Agitated on the phone, and… scared." Marley swallowed thickly on that last word.

"Wouldn't you?"

"Yes." Unique's voice had most of Wade softness to it, telling Kitty that she was at the very least disturbed by the situation. Marley's diplomatic tone resonated through out the apartment once again.

"We're all a little scared…" Unique scoffed.

"There's nothing _little_ about it." _Better, but still muted_, Kitty thought.

"And that's why we need to handle this proactively," Jake stated, rising from his seat purposefully. Kitty cocked an eyebrow.

"Like?"

"We should first find out who this mystery person is, so we can tell if they're legit, or just some screwball who got his hands on a police report." Kitty shifted from foot to foot, and Marley eyed her, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Fine," Kitty responded flippantly, realizing they had all agreed to this before hand. "But if we're playing _Scooby Doo_, I get to be Daphne."

Kitty was closest to Marley, hands down. Next was Unique and then Jake. Although, Kitty would admit she measured _closeness_ the same way other people measure tolerance- she argued least with Marley, some with Unique and mostly with Jake. She thought they were decent enough, and being all alone had been horrible, but their relationship was structured around a near two year gap, and the give and take sometimes became a bit heated. Marley herself, in her opinion was closest to Jake, as was Marley to Jake and Unique seemed almost like the outlandish character to Marley's straight man persona. Neutrality and centeredness abounded in Marley, to an extent where she was almost boring. A Plain Jane who wasn't so much plain as she was shy (Kitty had admitted to herself at the end of sophomore year that Marley was more attractive than herself; Kitty was what some might call cute, or feisty, words used to avoid ones like short, large headed, especially in that damn ponytail, and _bitch_) Marley was liked, but not popular, transitioning from group to group with such ease and so good natured, she made Rachel Berry, the original New Direction's official protagonist, look like a bitch out of hell.

So Marley playing mother hen, trying to consol her and cajole Kitty didn't bother her. But Jake's and Unique's attempts at walking on eggshells around her were having the opposite effect they intended.

"Seriously, if you have something to say, just say it." Kitty said, tried to strain most of the aggression out of her voice, and yet keep the mood casual, rather than vulnerable, after the fifth time or so that Jake and Unique exchanged looks. Marley looked up.

"What?"

"Not you, Sherri and Terri over here. Just say what you need to say." Marley frowned.

"We think we might know who sent the email, or at least how to narrow down the possibilities," Jake replied. Kitty raised her eyebrows.

"Well, what's the big secret?"

For the past hour, the four were looking at the message on Marley's computer, already opened to the page when Kitty had arrived. Trying to figure out the user at McKinley had been going nowhere, as the school had upped it's cyber security extensively, likely because of the very reason they were investigating. Giving up on that, the quartet, tried hypothesizing who would send such an email.

"Quinn." Unique almost seemed to wince as she said the name. Her and Jake had been comparing notes for the half hour of brainstorming, and had settled on original high school glee clubbers, as having motive, opportunity- Figgins still welcomed them on campus as a reminder of his better days and useful recruiting tool, even as their influence faded. Kitty and company's involvement excluded them from his campaign. That and a less than impressive revived New Directions seemed like a bait and switch, and the principal had been trying to poach one of the members as a new director, or Santana Brittany and Quinn to coach some girls interested in cheerleading, but reportedly, on McKinley's social network page, all had turned down the offer out of respect for Mr. Shuester and Coach Sylvester. Kitty thought it could have been either former instructor or Coach Beiste even, as she always lent a helping hand when they were attending. Marley had been silent, and hadn't shared anything yet. Kitty figured she hadn't anything to offer.

"Why Quinn?" The blonde's voice was precariously neutral, and both Unique and Jake slid away from her perch on the right arm of the couch.

"Just before we graduated, there were rumors that you were…. _with_ Quinn at her hotel, when she visited. And that you stayed over. For the entire night." All three were staring at Kitty now, Jake and Unique warily so, Marley's eyes shining, seemingly misting over.

"Who-who told you that?"

"It's just a rumor. Hell, there's probably no truth to what they were saying, right? Not that there's anything wrong with it if you did." Jake waited, obviously for an affirmation.

"It might be true."

"Did anything happen?" Rolling her eyes, Kitty snapped at them.

"What do you want me to say, huh? Yeah, we had sex. It didn't come up _much_."

"Something? Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kitty had tried to get up. Quinn's hand rested on her shoulder, gently, but it seemed to calm the younger girl down from her vexation.

"Yes. You weren't helpless. You found his house the way it was, you sensed something was up and you took action. They had to hear about it on the news and from police-"

"Who then accused me of being a murderer!"

"And that was bad. But not knowing is worse." Kitty had started to cry.

"I didn't know. I didn't know…" Kitty sobbed. Quinn wrapped her up and made hushing sounds.

It was twenty minutes until Kitty regained her breath.

"She wants to help, Kitty. You should ask." Jake recommended quietly.

"Hell. No. To even suggest- Marley, why are you crying?" Now everyone turned to the brunette who shut her eyes, causing more tears to fall, and took in a shaky breath.

"_Say what you need to say. _It was one of the last songs we sung together." Marley's voice cracked and Unique and Jake rushed to her side.

It had taken until now to understand what Quinn had meant.

"I'll make the call."

A/N: and the plot thickens, only to get thicker next chapter, when Kitty calls Quinn. Till then~ LoungeLizard


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